Once upon a time, a human child fell into the ruins of the Underground.
Said human befriended a monster Prince, and they became close. The human even became like a second child to the monster's parents.
The human came down with an illness which worried every monster in the Underground as the child filled them with hope. They asked if they could see the flowers of their home again, like they had before they fell.
But with the barrier blocking anyone who entered the Underground from leaving, there was nothing the monster Royals could do to fufill their request.
Their adoptive brother was wracked with grief and absorbed the child's soul, which gave him the power to leave the Underground. He did so, and lay his sibling on the flower bed of their village.
Humans swarmed around and attacked the Prince, thinking he had killed the human himself.
He crawled back to the castle of which he lived in and later died from his wounds.
Six more humans fell, and each one was killed for their soul so the monsters could live free and their King could become a god.
He only needed one more...
Limping through the hallway, Chara attempted to not place any weight on their bad leg as their wounds were serious and one overused bandage was simply not enough. A knife was held lightly in their hand, dusted with white powder.
One more to go. ...Or was it two? The human couldn't tell; nor did they care. It was similar to dominoes - knock one down, the rest come tumbling down in a matter of seconds (though currently it relates to hours) and you lose track of which is which and what number you're on as more time passes.
The child's weary, crimson eyes bore holes into anything and everything, searching for any survivors while still adjusting to their limited vision. What kind of hairstyle even is this? The bangs covered their eyes enough that they wouldn't have been able to see even without Frisk's habit of screwing up their eyes tight enough that they could only see about 7 feet in front of them.
What a weird kid.
Chara gripped "their" striped shirt and pawed around where Frisk's heart was, feeling for warmth. They found the tiniest amount, and their deranged grin faltered at the discovery. They weren't cold. That meant Frisk was still fighting. They let out a dull chuckle, which rang out in the hallway. What an idiot.
Something made them stop.
A dark figure loomed over them, blocking their journey to the king. They knew exactly who it was. Wasn't really much of a puzzle.
"...Human." the figure spoke in a brittle tone, their eye gleaming. The other one was shielded by an eyepatch that Chara recognised from somewhere. Oh, right. That fish that proved to be quite the roadblock with her determination. Guess he liked her.
The monster the child saw as Papyrus stepped out from the gloom and continued, his voice cracking at times.
"I'm... I'm not going to ghost over the details. You took over my friend's body. You killed my mentor. You killed all the innocent people of Snowdin. You killed the lady behind the door who my brother loved. You... you killed my brother.
You, human, have made me... Very. Very. Angry..."
Papyrus cleared his throat and spoke once again. He was trying to act normal. How cute.
"I-I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!... YOU KNOW, I BET SANS WOULD HAVE FOUND THAT HUMERUS, NYEH HEH... H-heh... heh..."
He trailed off and Chara boredly twirled the knife in their grasp, using the spare time to take in the rest of his appearance. He was indeed wearing Undyne's eyepatch on his left socket -the one his magic didn't illuminate, Chara noticed- and there was a blue hoodie with a rather large slash mark running through the fabric.
That belonged to Sans, didn't it?
A heavy wave of nostalgia washed over the child as they remembered what had happened to the skeleton.
(He held out a bony hand for Chara to take, his tone unwavering even though there was a knife -in his defence, it was made of sharpened plastic- aimed at his ribcage.
"Look, kid. You're a great little guy from what I know... and we really don't have to fight."
Chara raised an eyebrow and stared.
"...After all, I'm not built for fighting. Don't exactly have the guts to hurt anyone like this, either. Look, we can just laugh this off and, well..."
They continued to stare.
"...Howsabout we go to Grillby's?"
Chara paused and made it look like they were thinking about Sans's proposal, while steadying the plastic blade and blocking out Frisk's cries in their shared head. They felt their heart twist and screwed up their eyes to stop the tears from shedding. Damn kid.
Sans could obviously see Chara's turmoil, and shifted his weight from one foot to another while eyeing the toy knife suspiciously. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead; a signal that he was growing uneasy.
"H-hey, kid-"
They threw themselves forward and made a quick slash at the skeleton's hoodie, grimacing as they noticed the hit wasn't as powerful as they'd hoped due to Frisk's determined soul.
Still did the damage, though. Sans's eyesockets widened and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to hide the pain spreading across his features.
"K-kid." he gasped, moving his skeletal fingers to cover the gash which was somehow spurting what Chara assumed to be ketchup over his shirt and hoodie. Frisk's screams became louder. Their heart felt like it was being ripped from their chest. None of that helped with their now splitting headache.
"Kid," he began again, pausing for breath he didn't need, "Y-You... I, uh..it was k-knife meeting you... Could've been knifer, though."
Now the red substance was spilling down his chin, and Sans forced a grin at the terrible puns.
"M-My bro... ain't gonna enjoy this lil present, eh...?"
He let out a dry laugh, and choked on his next words as his eyes darkened. The lights were gone.
"Choose your next movements wisely. Papyrus ain't weak when he isn't holdin' back..."
Chara sighed, closed their eyes, and placed a hand to their head, the cries becoming unbearable as they dropped the knife.
"You wouldn't wanna have a bad time, bud."
When they opened their eyes, all that was left was his torn jacket, a few drops of ketchup and his white, powdery remains.))
Papyrus gazed at that same white powder that stained the toy knife strapped to Chara's side, shaking as he then looked back into the red eyes of the child.
"Human..." he spoke, straightening up and letting his eye glow orange for a moment. Pain and hatred reflected in the flare.
"I no longer believe in you..."
Papyrus raised his hand and focused energy into it, speaking in a monotone voice that crawled up Chara's back.
"You have no idea how it feels to lose somebody close to you."
He sure was good at getting under people's skin for a skeleton.
"And you don't even... you don't even deserve the fate I'm passing you... for now!"
Several rows of bones lined up behind him, all sharpened and capable of slicing the child in two. Chara heeded Sans's words, becoming wary of Papyrus as this could simply be a facade.
Papyrus held out his hand, and Chara almost accepted the gesture. Seems Frisk hasn't given up; that could be a problem considering how carefree Chara had been for the majority of the way to Asgore. Frisk hadn't responded for ages, possibly meaning they'd been restoring their strength to fight back.
Yet they still stood their ground, and Papyrus laughed and retracted the hand in favor of sweeping it to the side, flinging Chara cross the room and into a nearby pillar.
"Nyeh heh heh! It appears it is time to make my debut!
And after this I'll read puns out loud, like Sans used to like.
And then I'll hone my cooking skills, like Undyne used to like.
You, human, have ruined everything. So, to return the favor, I'll ruin you! En garde!"
One bone Papyrus held tight enough that cracks were forming where he gripped, while the rest shot towards Chara.
The real fight begins.
Every time Chara died, Papyrus changed up his attacks and puzzles. They could still remember some of his bitter words,
"Human... That expression etched onto your face is the expression of a killer who was killed five times. Good thing counting isn't my strong suit, as I'll surely be losing count soon enough!"
Said human befriended a monster Prince, and they became close. The human even became like a second child to the monster's parents.
The human came down with an illness which worried every monster in the Underground as the child filled them with hope. They asked if they could see the flowers of their home again, like they had before they fell.
But with the barrier blocking anyone who entered the Underground from leaving, there was nothing the monster Royals could do to fufill their request.
Their adoptive brother was wracked with grief and absorbed the child's soul, which gave him the power to leave the Underground. He did so, and lay his sibling on the flower bed of their village.
Humans swarmed around and attacked the Prince, thinking he had killed the human himself.
He crawled back to the castle of which he lived in and later died from his wounds.
Six more humans fell, and each one was killed for their soul so the monsters could live free and their King could become a god.
He only needed one more...
Limping through the hallway, Chara attempted to not place any weight on their bad leg as their wounds were serious and one overused bandage was simply not enough. A knife was held lightly in their hand, dusted with white powder.
One more to go. ...Or was it two? The human couldn't tell; nor did they care. It was similar to dominoes - knock one down, the rest come tumbling down in a matter of seconds (though currently it relates to hours) and you lose track of which is which and what number you're on as more time passes.
The child's weary, crimson eyes bore holes into anything and everything, searching for any survivors while still adjusting to their limited vision. What kind of hairstyle even is this? The bangs covered their eyes enough that they wouldn't have been able to see even without Frisk's habit of screwing up their eyes tight enough that they could only see about 7 feet in front of them.
What a weird kid.
Chara gripped "their" striped shirt and pawed around where Frisk's heart was, feeling for warmth. They found the tiniest amount, and their deranged grin faltered at the discovery. They weren't cold. That meant Frisk was still fighting. They let out a dull chuckle, which rang out in the hallway. What an idiot.
Something made them stop.
A dark figure loomed over them, blocking their journey to the king. They knew exactly who it was. Wasn't really much of a puzzle.
"...Human." the figure spoke in a brittle tone, their eye gleaming. The other one was shielded by an eyepatch that Chara recognised from somewhere. Oh, right. That fish that proved to be quite the roadblock with her determination. Guess he liked her.
The monster the child saw as Papyrus stepped out from the gloom and continued, his voice cracking at times.
"I'm... I'm not going to ghost over the details. You took over my friend's body. You killed my mentor. You killed all the innocent people of Snowdin. You killed the lady behind the door who my brother loved. You... you killed my brother.
You, human, have made me... Very. Very. Angry..."
Papyrus cleared his throat and spoke once again. He was trying to act normal. How cute.
"I-I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!... YOU KNOW, I BET SANS WOULD HAVE FOUND THAT HUMERUS, NYEH HEH... H-heh... heh..."
He trailed off and Chara boredly twirled the knife in their grasp, using the spare time to take in the rest of his appearance. He was indeed wearing Undyne's eyepatch on his left socket -the one his magic didn't illuminate, Chara noticed- and there was a blue hoodie with a rather large slash mark running through the fabric.
That belonged to Sans, didn't it?
A heavy wave of nostalgia washed over the child as they remembered what had happened to the skeleton.
(He held out a bony hand for Chara to take, his tone unwavering even though there was a knife -in his defence, it was made of sharpened plastic- aimed at his ribcage.
"Look, kid. You're a great little guy from what I know... and we really don't have to fight."
Chara raised an eyebrow and stared.
"...After all, I'm not built for fighting. Don't exactly have the guts to hurt anyone like this, either. Look, we can just laugh this off and, well..."
They continued to stare.
"...Howsabout we go to Grillby's?"
Chara paused and made it look like they were thinking about Sans's proposal, while steadying the plastic blade and blocking out Frisk's cries in their shared head. They felt their heart twist and screwed up their eyes to stop the tears from shedding. Damn kid.
Sans could obviously see Chara's turmoil, and shifted his weight from one foot to another while eyeing the toy knife suspiciously. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead; a signal that he was growing uneasy.
"H-hey, kid-"
They threw themselves forward and made a quick slash at the skeleton's hoodie, grimacing as they noticed the hit wasn't as powerful as they'd hoped due to Frisk's determined soul.
Still did the damage, though. Sans's eyesockets widened and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to hide the pain spreading across his features.
"K-kid." he gasped, moving his skeletal fingers to cover the gash which was somehow spurting what Chara assumed to be ketchup over his shirt and hoodie. Frisk's screams became louder. Their heart felt like it was being ripped from their chest. None of that helped with their now splitting headache.
"Kid," he began again, pausing for breath he didn't need, "Y-You... I, uh..it was k-knife meeting you... Could've been knifer, though."
Now the red substance was spilling down his chin, and Sans forced a grin at the terrible puns.
"M-My bro... ain't gonna enjoy this lil present, eh...?"
He let out a dry laugh, and choked on his next words as his eyes darkened. The lights were gone.
"Choose your next movements wisely. Papyrus ain't weak when he isn't holdin' back..."
Chara sighed, closed their eyes, and placed a hand to their head, the cries becoming unbearable as they dropped the knife.
"You wouldn't wanna have a bad time, bud."
When they opened their eyes, all that was left was his torn jacket, a few drops of ketchup and his white, powdery remains.))
Papyrus gazed at that same white powder that stained the toy knife strapped to Chara's side, shaking as he then looked back into the red eyes of the child.
"Human..." he spoke, straightening up and letting his eye glow orange for a moment. Pain and hatred reflected in the flare.
"I no longer believe in you..."
Papyrus raised his hand and focused energy into it, speaking in a monotone voice that crawled up Chara's back.
"You have no idea how it feels to lose somebody close to you."
He sure was good at getting under people's skin for a skeleton.
"And you don't even... you don't even deserve the fate I'm passing you... for now!"
Several rows of bones lined up behind him, all sharpened and capable of slicing the child in two. Chara heeded Sans's words, becoming wary of Papyrus as this could simply be a facade.
Papyrus held out his hand, and Chara almost accepted the gesture. Seems Frisk hasn't given up; that could be a problem considering how carefree Chara had been for the majority of the way to Asgore. Frisk hadn't responded for ages, possibly meaning they'd been restoring their strength to fight back.
Yet they still stood their ground, and Papyrus laughed and retracted the hand in favor of sweeping it to the side, flinging Chara cross the room and into a nearby pillar.
"Nyeh heh heh! It appears it is time to make my debut!
And after this I'll read puns out loud, like Sans used to like.
And then I'll hone my cooking skills, like Undyne used to like.
You, human, have ruined everything. So, to return the favor, I'll ruin you! En garde!"
One bone Papyrus held tight enough that cracks were forming where he gripped, while the rest shot towards Chara.
The real fight begins.
Every time Chara died, Papyrus changed up his attacks and puzzles. They could still remember some of his bitter words,
"Human... That expression etched onto your face is the expression of a killer who was killed five times. Good thing counting isn't my strong suit, as I'll surely be losing count soon enough!"